The diversity of Makers at this year’s DIY Celebration of the Inventive Spirit is truly wonderful, ranging from game makers to blacksmith artists to home scientists, and now a mobile art studio! We’re very grateful that Carrie Boucher is bringing her amazing NOMADStudio art bus to Gulf Coast MakerCon.

Here she tells us about her works with NOMADStudio and what she hopes to bring to Gulf Coast MakerCon, and check out her great TEDxYouth@TampaBay 2013 talk, below, about the power of freeing yourself of “the rules” and how that freedom unleashes creativity and achievement.

Carrie Boucher: “I am an artist (metalsmith) and founder of NOMADstudio (the Neighborhood-Oriented Mobile Art & Design Studio). A crew of volunteers and I have converted a former Arlington Transit bus into a public art studio & classroom: the NOMAD Art Bus. Actually, the conversion is still underway, but we’re to the point that we can start getting the Art Bus out into the community so people can get on board, check it out and get creative with us!

NOMADstudio Debut at the 2014 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts

“I founded NOMADstudio for several reasons. First of all I’ve always loved the idea of having an art studio on a bus. Building on that, after spending a year teaching art in an elementary/middle school environment I saw what lack of funding and focus on standardized tests were doing to our art classes. I was motivated to find a way to get more art programming out into our communities and saw the bus as a perfect vehicle to get us there…literally and figuratively.

“As the project developed it became clear to me that I wasn’t the only one who thought the idea of a studio on a bus was pretty cool. Just about everyone I spoke with got really excited about it and talked about what kinds of things they would like to do and see on the bus. So many jumped on board to help out because they wanted to see this idea become a reality. Right away it became a community project.

“We are really excited to be bringing the NOMAD Art Bus to MakerCon! When people discuss “maker culture” they often focus on the modern technology aspect of it, but another fundamental aspect of it is creativity. Artistic endeavors are born from that same creative spirit and the lines between what artists do and makers do are often quite blurred…crafters and DIY-ers too, they are all innovators. Using your imagination to envision potential new uses for available raw materials, learning the skills to accomplish the project, then actually doing the work is the common equation used by all of these creatives. And getting them all to collaborate exponentially increases the potential for what can be created.

“That’s what makes events like Gulf Coast MakerCon really exciting! Being immersed in the DIY spirit is what NOMADstudio thrives on…and we love passing that spirit around…sharing ideas, experiences and knowledge! Get a group of creatives together and you’ve got a win-win every time!”